Minera Quarry 3rd May 2025 (SJ 25156 52172)

A bit of a disappointment. No Frog Orchids were to be seen, though we may have arrived early, and Early Purple Orchids seem to be thinner on the ground. However we do find some more in a new spot, on the higher ground between the older and newer workings.

Leighton Moss 9th May 2025

Being an RSPB reserve this is primarily a birding visit, but I do have hopes that there will be orchids. Well change that to orchid in the singular. A Common Twayblade near the visitor centre. There may be others later i the year, but I’ll not be around to see them.

Silverdale Lots 9th May 2025 (SD 45790 75156)

We are close by so it seems a shame not the visit here yet again, but if it we had only driven 100 miles just to be here I would have been in a sulk! Not a patch on previous years. Yes there are Early Purple Orchids and Green-winged Orchids, but the latter have no white or pink varieties this year. A couple of nice two-tones brighten things up.

Panorama 12th May 2023 (SJ 2354 4329)

Last year there were some nice clumps of Early Purple Orchids by the roadside and on the hill slopes. This year they all seem to be eaten by the sheep. I can only get a photo by putting the camera through a fence and into a sheep firld.

Ynys Las 20th May 2025 (SN 60760 93789) 

It is a birding trip that brought to the area, and it seems we are a bit early for orchids. Just a few Northern Marsh Orchids just starting to open up, and Early Purple Orchids in bud.

On the way back we stop off at the hamlet of Brithdir where last year there were Heath Spotted Orchids on a grass verge. This year just one in flower, and too small and grotty for a picture.

You may have spotted a trend here. 2025 seems to be a year of disappointment and disillusionment. Obviously sites will change over time, but it seems all I can report is bad news. I have visited a host of other places this month without an orchid to be seen. Wixall Moss, Anglesey, Whitegates in Cheshire, Eryrys, Clocaenog Forest, Coed Llandegla, Eastham Country park, Dibbindale on the Wirral, and Cors y Sarnau near Bala. I may have to make a decision about the rest of the year. Should I concentrate on birding and note coincidental orchid sightings. I could just respond to interesting posts on social media, if not too distant. Or do I go further afield for a few days; somewhere where we have not been near before. I need a plan

Llynllys Common 28th May 2025 (SJ 27352 23565)

We have been regular visitors here until 2020. Five whole years have gone by. Perhaps I have been put off off by the steep climb up here. Anyway, things have changed a bit. The was a nice group of Greater Butterfly Orchids under a hedge; sheltered so a flash was need for a photo. These have disappeared. However, the are a good number of fine examples dotted roadside and on the open grass in places we have not been before. We have seen this before. Where we first saw Greater Butterflies they were gone 2 or 3 years later. They come and go.
When I first came here I reported both Greater and Lesser Butterfly Orchids. On subsequent visits the latter were not seen, and I gave up looking. However I have found one contender for Lesser Butterfly Orchid this time. I have trouble spotting these in the field and rely on examining photos later. But try and get a good full frontal picture of a single flower!

There are also Early Purple Orchids going over, a few Common Spotted Orchids coming into flower, and some Common twayblades.

A definite Greater Butterfly, and a possible Lesser Butterfly
 

Pantymwyn 30th May 2025 (SJ 1943 6497)

Having seen the Butterfly Orchids out two days ago, we chance an early visit here. However for some reason it is too early; they are all in tight bud. Based on leaf shape - more oval for Greater Butterfly Orchid and more pointed for Lesser Butterfly Orchid - I can say that both species will be in flower in a couple of weeks. There are some Early Purple Orchids not quite going over too.

Mollington 31st May 2025

A return after year`s absence, and it looks as if part of the area may be under development. Or is it a traveller site? Caravans, pickups, dogs, etc. Taake a single snap of one Southern Marsh Orchid to prove they are still there and we have been.

Gowy Woods 31st May 2025(SJ 44600 71343)

It is not far to get to here from Mollington, worth a look at the Southern Marsh Orchids here are doing. Two years ago I said the numbers were down to around 100, possibly due to suffocation by other vegetation. Well, I counted 125 today, and there could well be more hidden in the undergrowth. So not all bad news. The one thing I notice here is that all the SMOs have long bracts, a feature not noticable on other plants of the same species locally. This suggests that the entire colony had derived from a single plant. Have i said that before? Anyway, I see no reason these should not be taxonomically classed as D. praetimissa f. longibracta. It has been done for Frog Orchids.